bornadog
06-12-2012, 09:51 PM
Link (http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/dogs-compare-numbers-20121205-2avt3.html)
WESTERN Bulldogs president Peter Gordon has revealed he is investigating the distributions received by clubs in major overseas competitions in a bid to help provide a solution for the growing divide in the AFL.
Collingwood's unprecedented profit of $7.83 million for 2012, having also disclosed it had spent $21.17 million on its football department, an increase of $1.75 million on 2011, has added to debate over the league's equalisation measures.
The Magpies' football department spending outpaces the likes of Melbourne ($18 million) and the Bulldogs ($15.75 million), with AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou conceding on Tuesday the gap could continue to increase, despite the measures taken last year with the club future fund.
Gordon, who will officially replace David Smorgon at the Bulldogs annual general meeting on December 20, has nominated equalisation as a key point of interest. ''I am studying it by not just reference to the way it works in the AFL but the way it works in elite sporting competitions all around the world,'' he said. ''From the Bundesliga, to the English Premier League to the NFL to the NBA. There are lots of such competitions and it seems fairly evident that all of them have smaller and larger franchises. It also seems very clear that there are a range of policies with respect to the distribution of what might be called core or central revenues.
''I want to spend a little bit of time understanding the area before I dip my toe into the water into what the appropriate AFL position ought to be or, indeed, what the appropriate Western Bulldogs position would be.
''What I do say is every club should aspire to be like Collingwood. They are, obviously, an icon of the AFL, tremendously well-run and their financial result is a great credit to them.''
The Bulldogs declared an operating loss of $136,679 for the year ending October 31, but did increase football spending by $1.2 million.
''The Bulldogs is essentially a break-even result this year based on a lower spend in its football department than is the median spend. That is one of the things that we are seeking to address,'' Gordon said.
Club presidents and chief executives will meet the AFL in March to discuss the issue.
St Kilda president Greg Westaway has flagged the possibility of taxing interstate clubs which benefit from lucrative home-ground deals. But the two West Australian-based teams point out they will each pay the West Australian Football League more than $5 million next year in licence fees.
Demetriou said all parties had ''agreed that something needs to be done''.
''We have got an equalisation process at the moment which is working,'' he said. ''There is no doubt in the first year of the five-year 'disequalisation' strategy we have seen some significant shifts in clubs like Richmond, North Melbourne - some really pleasing things happening at the Bulldogs and St Kilda.''
But the fine print released by clubs indicates issues still abound in terms of giving all clubs a better chance of winning a premiership.
''There are some aspects of the revenue gap that are widening,'' Demetriou said.
''We have seen some real responsible spending going on in football departments where some of the lower clubs have been able to spend more on their football department, but when you see some of the results, you are going to see that it gives [wealthier clubs] the potential to spend more on football, which means the gap might get larger again.''
WESTERN Bulldogs president Peter Gordon has revealed he is investigating the distributions received by clubs in major overseas competitions in a bid to help provide a solution for the growing divide in the AFL.
Collingwood's unprecedented profit of $7.83 million for 2012, having also disclosed it had spent $21.17 million on its football department, an increase of $1.75 million on 2011, has added to debate over the league's equalisation measures.
The Magpies' football department spending outpaces the likes of Melbourne ($18 million) and the Bulldogs ($15.75 million), with AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou conceding on Tuesday the gap could continue to increase, despite the measures taken last year with the club future fund.
Gordon, who will officially replace David Smorgon at the Bulldogs annual general meeting on December 20, has nominated equalisation as a key point of interest. ''I am studying it by not just reference to the way it works in the AFL but the way it works in elite sporting competitions all around the world,'' he said. ''From the Bundesliga, to the English Premier League to the NFL to the NBA. There are lots of such competitions and it seems fairly evident that all of them have smaller and larger franchises. It also seems very clear that there are a range of policies with respect to the distribution of what might be called core or central revenues.
''I want to spend a little bit of time understanding the area before I dip my toe into the water into what the appropriate AFL position ought to be or, indeed, what the appropriate Western Bulldogs position would be.
''What I do say is every club should aspire to be like Collingwood. They are, obviously, an icon of the AFL, tremendously well-run and their financial result is a great credit to them.''
The Bulldogs declared an operating loss of $136,679 for the year ending October 31, but did increase football spending by $1.2 million.
''The Bulldogs is essentially a break-even result this year based on a lower spend in its football department than is the median spend. That is one of the things that we are seeking to address,'' Gordon said.
Club presidents and chief executives will meet the AFL in March to discuss the issue.
St Kilda president Greg Westaway has flagged the possibility of taxing interstate clubs which benefit from lucrative home-ground deals. But the two West Australian-based teams point out they will each pay the West Australian Football League more than $5 million next year in licence fees.
Demetriou said all parties had ''agreed that something needs to be done''.
''We have got an equalisation process at the moment which is working,'' he said. ''There is no doubt in the first year of the five-year 'disequalisation' strategy we have seen some significant shifts in clubs like Richmond, North Melbourne - some really pleasing things happening at the Bulldogs and St Kilda.''
But the fine print released by clubs indicates issues still abound in terms of giving all clubs a better chance of winning a premiership.
''There are some aspects of the revenue gap that are widening,'' Demetriou said.
''We have seen some real responsible spending going on in football departments where some of the lower clubs have been able to spend more on their football department, but when you see some of the results, you are going to see that it gives [wealthier clubs] the potential to spend more on football, which means the gap might get larger again.''